Location: DiP office at 8700 1st Ave Silver Spring, MD
Cost: $20
Erica Ginsberg, co-founder, executive director of Docs in Progress, did the moderation. DiP is now 9 years old. DiP offers training classes for making docs, fiscal sponsorship, networking opportunities, etc.
Panelists were all DiP alumni:
- Gilliam Willman
Director, Producer, Writer Editor of "The New Woman: Annie 'Londonderry' Kopchovsky" (28 min)
www.spokeswomanproductions.com
- Jason Osder
Director, Producer of "Let the Fire Burn" (95 min)
jasonosder.com/blog/film
- Donald Plata
Director, Producer of "Forgotten Soldiers" (87 min)
www.ww2scouts.com/
- Errol Morris "Tabloid" (2010) for interesting use of media footage
- Bart Layton "The Imposter" (2012) for creative methods in documentary filmmaking
- Bill Nichols, "Introduction to Documentary"
(A doc is a representation or relaity, not a reproduction of reality.)
- Robert J. Flaherty, "Nanook of the North" (1922)
rogerebert.com reviews
wikipedia page
for a doc containing staged sequences
There was a screening of a short clip from each of their films, a general discussion of their filmmaking process, then the floor was opened to questions. There was about an hour of very interesting discussion but I only took notes on the following.
Q: How did you determine rights and how did it factor into your budget?
A:
Osder: Pat Aufderheide laid groundwork for documentary filmmakers to make use of footage in a documentary film. The issue is that an insurance policy is needed for a distribution deal. Now, thanks to Pat Aufderheide. insurance companies will assume a "fair use" defense
will be made in case of a lawsuit. This lowers the price of their insurance premiums, compared to maybe 10 years ago.
Willman: Rights also depend on the type of distribution: web distribution, DVD only distribution, broadcast distribution, and so on, are all different. Of course, anything in the public domain does not require obtaining rights. Also, rights regarding images and facts about a person depend on whether that person is a public figure or not.
Plata: I used volunteers for the WWII battle re-enactments. They are all members of a clubs which do battles using period uniforms and actual weapons (firing blanks). Lou Diamond Phillips volunteered his VO.
Overall, I learned a lot, the films looked great from what part I saw (I plan on buying them all), and it was an excellent panel discussion!
